One Less Weasley?
by OutlawedAngel
Summary: Ginny took one look at her brother on the stretcher and ran. He can't be dead... Fred Weasley is dead... or is he?


**One Less Weasley?**

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously or there would be many, many more books (Take the hint, Rowling!)._

**.:~*~:.**

Ginny Weasley took one look at her brother on the stretcher and ran. _He can't be dead. _She thought as tears streamed down her cheeks, _Not Fred. _She ducked into an empty classroom as a pair of Death Eaters came the other way. She breathed a sigh of relief when they passed by oblivious. Ginny crept back into the shadows, charmed the lock and sound-proofed the walls. She must have cast at least 7 separate spells and only then, did she collapse and start to sob. As Ginny sobbed, the rest of her red-headed family was situated around the still body of "Fred", when he suddenly started to….change. His skin started to bubble, as it does when someone has taken Polyjuice Potion… Molly Weasley shrieked as she peeked back down at her supposed son. The man now lying on the cot had dark brown hair, dark skin and looked about the twins age. George and Percy both twitched, "_Lee Jordan_".

Someone had forced him Polyjuice potion and now it had worn off. The Weasley family gasped. If it was Lee dead and not Fred… Then where was the other mischievous twin? Surely he wouldn't have run away and leave Hogwarts with one less protector. That just wasn't how Fred Weasley worked. The Weasley's nodded and made a silent agreement – Find Fred.

**.:~*~:.**

Ginny sniffled quietly and gently wiped away a few stray tears. Her thoughts wandering. _Freddie couldn't be dead, surely._ He was her strong big brother, and he wouldn't let himself be killed that easily. A rather loud thud startled the Weasley girl back into reality and she looked around. No one else was in the room. But the sound had been awfully close and most definitely inside the 'empty' room. She stood and looked around again. The furthest corner seemed to shimmer a bit. Carefully, Ginny made her way around the scattered tables and chairs towards the iridescent shine of the corner. She reached out and was expecting to touch the bricks or at least to grab at thin air, but just as her elbow started to straighten out, her palm was forced to a stop by a cold and invisible barrier.

Ginny Weasley shuddered. There was dark magic here, and it was powerful. She dropped her hand and pulled out her wand. She checked once more just to be sure that;

There was an invisible barrier

and

There was absolutely no one else in the room.

After she was satisfied, she turned back to the corner, raised her want and muttered, "_Revelio_!" Her vision warped for a fraction of a second before the room was straight again and she could see a misty wall in front of her. She was satisfied with her efforts so far. Now to see if there was another _person _in the room with her. She raised her wand again, but this time she tapped the barrier three times before saying, "_Honomenum Revelio_!" A faint light reflected from behind the mist. Ginny called out loudly, "Stand well back!" The light grew dimmer as the person drew back away from the mist. Taking three strides back herself; the Weasley girl pointed her wand at the misty wall and said clearly, "_Reducto_!" The mist cleared and a glassy substance shattered into a thousand pieces before her. The person who had been trapped behind cast '_Protego_' to protect them from the flying shards. His flaming red hair was dull with dirt and grime.

As he lifted his head, bright blue eyes caught her brown and she froze. Even though the room had scarcely enough light to identify his face, Ginerva Weasley would recognise those mischief making eyes anywhere. Despite that, she brought her wand up and muttered, "_Lumos_." She stared at the black wand tip as it lit up with a bright blue light. "Gin?" The voice broke through the silence and Ginny looked up into the concerned eyes of her brother, "Fred?" The young man smiled in relief and nodded. Her eyes glazed over with unshed tears as she launched herself into the warmth of his embrace. She snuggled deeper into him, glad to know her precious brother was still alive. The reality of their situation didn't sink in until a few minutes later… "You're _alive_!" Ginny gasped finally. Fred looked at her worriedly, "Yeah Gin, I am. Why are you surprised?"

Ginerva's mind was in chaos. _Freddie was still alive_. _Her brother was safe_. _Someone had been impersonating him_. _Someone didn't want Fred found_. _She had to find her parents_. Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Fred shook her shoulders, frightened by the way his baby sister was acting. It was like she thought he was dead. Wait a minute... No... It couldn't be... Could it? He spun Ginny to face him and looked her right in the eye, "Gin, look at me. Is anyone else hurt?" Ginny shook her head, "I don't know, now. We need to go back to the Great Hall!" The grip on the girl tightened and the boy nodded his head. Taking his sister's hand, Fred Weasley held his wand out in front of him and dispelled the charms on the room. Looking at his watch, he saw that the hour to retrieve and grieve their dead was almost up. He grabbed Ginny tightly and disapparated.

**.:~*~:.**

With a rather loud bang, two figures appeared in the doorway to the Great Hall, startling many of its inhabitants. The siblings paid them no mind and started scanning the hall for the familiar faces of the rest of the Weasleys. Fred spotted them first – being almost ten centimetres taller than Ginny – and was off like a bullet out of a gun, dragging his poor sister behind him. Her arm felt like it would be ripped out of its socket, but Ginny didn't dare let go of her precious brother, in fear of losing him again. Fred searched their faces carefully, and was heartbroken to see the dead and lost look in his beloved twins' eyes, "George!" he called out, "George, over here!" The said brother jerked violently and his head snapped around to look at the duo coming for them. George Weasley startled his family viciously as he cried out happily, "_Fred_!"

Ginny finally released Fred's hand and the boy raced towards his twin and the two hugged like the other would disappear forever. As the two parted, Molly Weasley snatched Fred's face in her calloused hands and brought his face down to hers to kiss his cheeks, forehead and anywhere else she could reach. Once she let him go, they could see the clear crystalline tears making tracks on her dusty face. Arthur Weasley gripped his middle son tightly and let tears fall silently onto his shoulder. Ron, Percy, Charlie and Bill all surrounded Fred sobbing and held him like he was their last anchor to Earth, "Don't you dare scare us like that again, little brother." scolded Charlie.

Fred wiped the tears off his face, gathered Ginny in his arms tightly, and whispered, "Don't worry. I won't."

**.:~*~:.**

_Sorry if it's too short for your liking, but I thought it was short and sweet. This was originally supposed to be a FredxGinny thing but then I was like, nah. Besides… I can't stand the thought of Fred dying. I HATE IT! Curse you Rowling for killing him off :(! But thank you for making an awesome series :)_

_Anyhoo, R&R!_

_Outlaw xox_


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